America Promised Them Safety. Now It’s Charging $1,000 to Stay Out of a Warzone.
The Trump administration has gutted protections for Afghans who helped the U.S. mission—slashing refugee admissions, ending TPS, and erecting costly new fees that few can afford.
WASHINGTON — Four years after the United States announced a refugee program for Afghans who aided the U.S. mission during the war, the Trump administration has rescinded legal protections and suspended resettlement pathways, stranding thousands of former allies in legal and geographic limbo.
In 2021, the Biden administration created a Priority 2 (P-2) designation under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), aimed at Afghans affiliated with the U.S. government or U.S.-funded organizations. The State Department at the time promised that “thousands of Afghans and their immediate family members” would be eligible for permanent resettlement in the United States, even if they did not qualify for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). This included local employees, contractors, interpreters, and Afghan staff for U.S.-based media or NGOs [India Blooms, Aug. 3, 2021].
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But by 2025, that promise has unraveled. In April, the Department of Homeland Security ended deportation protections for Afghan nationals, choosing not to renew Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or offer new parole options. The move followed the administration’s earlier decision in January to suspend all refugee admissions [Washington Post, Apr. 30, 2025].
Thousands of Afghans who were evacuated under Operation Allies Welcome in 2021 remain in legal limbo in the United States. Meanwhile, many others have been stranded abroad. According to The New York Times [May 10, 2025], over 5,000 evacuees have been detained in the United Arab Emirates since 2021. The U.S. has not accepted any new evacuees from the UAE camps since 2022, while Emirati authorities signal impatience with the years-long impasse.
Conditions in the UAE facility, a repurposed desert compound, have deteriorated, and aid groups warn that detainees could soon face deportation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. As legal options narrow, advocates warn of an unfolding humanitarian crisis.
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The Trump administration’s hardline posture is further reflected in a new immigration fee schedule set to take effect July 22. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will now charge $1,000 for parole applications (Form I-131) and $100 annually for asylum seekers (Form I-589), as reported by Migrant Insider. These fees are largely non-waivable, even for those fleeing war or persecution.
In parallel, deportations of Afghans have accelerated worldwide. According to CBS News [July 1, 2025], nearly 2 million Afghans have been forcibly returned from Pakistan and Iran since late 2023. In June, Germany deported 81 Afghan men after a highly publicized crime involving an Afghan national.
President Trump has offered limited public comments on the Afghan refugee situation but stated he is "willing to try to help" individuals detained in the UAE. No executive action has followed.
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Critics say the administration’s failure to follow through on the P-2 program and its broader rollback of humanitarian protections have effectively abandoned America’s wartime allies. With TPS expired, parole access restricted, refugee programs suspended, and visa fees rising, advocates warn that the infrastructure for U.S. asylum is collapsing under the weight of policy reversals.
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